Wissenskluft-Perspektive und Digital Divide in der Gesundheitskommunikation

Der Beitrag analysiert die Fragestellungen und Befunde der theoretischen Wissenskluft-Perspektive sowie des Konzepts der Digital Divide im Forschungsbereich der Gesundheitskommunikation

Substituting Computers for Mobile Phones? An Analysis of the Effect of Device Divide on Digital Skills in Brazil

Part 4: User PerspectivesInternational audienceThis paper aims to analyze the phenomenon of device divide in the Brazilian context in order to understand how different Internet access devices and sociodemographic factors influence the development of digital skills. The research uses the microdata of 2014 and 2016 editions of a Brazilian nationwide survey named ICT Households survey. The main findings show that mobile devices are widely used by Brazilian Internet users. However, while in upper classes this device plays the role of complementary access to other devices, allowing users to access the Internet using computer and mobile platforms, for lower-income groups mobile is the only means of Internet access, substituting the use of computer equipment. The results also demonstrate that Internet users who access the Internet using both computational and mobile devices exhibit the highest level of digital skills. In contrast, users connecting exclusively via mobile show lower levels of digital skills which might reduce their effectiveness in using the Internet. These outcomes show the relevance of understanding the conditions of Internet access as well as their implication for the development of digital skills and provision of Internet services

The Matthew Effect in the Italian Digital Context: The Progressive Marginalisation of the “Poor”

The Matthew effect describes a model according to which, over time, inequal- ities fuel ever-widening gaps among individuals and social groups on the basis of the wellknown adage: ‘‘the rich get richer and the poor get poorer’’. In this paper, we analyse the results of the Matthew effect in Italy in relation to first and second level digital divide, in order to determine the trajectories of closure, persistence or reinforcement of inequal- ities within the population. The central research question of the work aims to understand whether, when compared with a higher level of dissemination of technology over time, the adoption curves trace a model of progressive inclusion for the ‘‘poor’’ which approach the ‘‘richest’’, or whether progressive increases are recorded in gaps. Considering a time span of more than a decade, microdata from the Istat multipurpose ‘‘Aspects of daily life’’ survey were used to find an empirically grounded answer to this research question. In terms of methodology, indices of absolute and relative digital exclusion and marginalisation which are necessary to take into account the changing nature of the phenomenon were proposed and used. Techniques of multivariate analysis (cluster analysis and multiple factor analysis) were also applied to detect any changes in the structure of variables and trajectories of the socio-demographic characteristics in question. The main results show the existence of a relative Matthew effect in Italy: despite the general increase in the spread of technologies, we are witnessing a progressive impoverishment of the weakest sectors of the population

New Insights into the Occurrence of Micropollutants and the Management and Treatment of Hospital Effluent

This chapter deals with investigations carried out over the last five years on hospital effluent in terms of the occurrence of micropollutants; new and promising technologies tested to improve the removal of key compounds (including emerging contaminants); the environmental and health risk assessments of pharmaceuticals residues and pathogens; and, finally, some of the strategies adopted in hospital effluent management and treatments through the discussion of some case studies. It emerges that the occurrence and treatment of hospital effluent are becoming issues of increasing concern also for countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Iran and Colombia, whose research groups had not actively participated in the worldwide debate thus far. Their interest in these topics highlights the shared, global awareness of the need to adopt safe, economic and technically feasible technologies for the treatment of hospital effluent to reduce the impact on the aquatic environment of hazardous substances typically administered or used in healthcare facilities. The experiences reported and discussed herein demonstrate the worldwide efforts that have been made and are still ongoing with the aim of reaching Sustainable Millennium Goal number 6 “Improve Clean Water and Sanitation” by 2030, as defined by the World Health Organization